Twenty years ago, the United Nations hosted the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which brought together global and civic leaders to address sustainability issues and achieved credibility for these issues at the highest political levels. As the United Nations convenes the follow up to the Earth Summit, we at the Institute will bring together leaders at the local level to celebrate the work being performed globally, and consider how the topics of the RIO+20 conference— Jobs, Energy, Cities, Food, Water, Oceans, and Disasters—can be addressed right here in New York City. We look forward to an evening of connecting with each other, enjoying a film together, celebrating our progress and exchanging our ideas and experiences.

Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.